Track In On This Feeling
by backinthebox
Summary: The Barden Bellas were imploding and the retreat was supposed to help, but Stacie's pretty sure she can be forgiven a few non-team building moments to spend time with her girlfriend. Extra scenes during Pitch Perfect 2, with established Staubrey. (formerly Welcome to The Lodge at Fallen Leaves)
1. Welcome to The Lodge at Fallen Leaves

Dear Pitch Perfect 2: you made it too easy for a Stacie/Aubrey shipper.

Established relationship.

Implied smut, if that's a thing.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Bear traps?!"

Aubrey looked up calmly from her desk, to regard the tall brunette who had just barged into her office without even knocking. "You should be with the rest of your group, you know."

"You eye-sex me while you're yelling at us, then you spring the fact that you put in bear traps?"

"I figured it would be inappropriate to make out with you right there." Aubrey pointed out.

Stacie glared at her, closing the door behind her and locking it. Aubrey's staff knew her, and knew who she was, but she _was_ yelling at their boss. "Bear traps?"

"We hardly ever have actual bears in them, don't worry." Aubrey waved her hand. She leaned back and smiled at the other girl. "You look pretty."

"Oh, no no no, Aubrey Posen. You do not get to compliment me." Stacie shook her head. "I don't recall bear traps being part of your plans for this place."

"Or we were too busy doing it in the primal scream therapy cabin for you to have noticed." Aubrey pointed out.

Stacie paused, and smiled fondly at the memory of the soundproof structure that she and Aubrey had spent a ridiculous amount of time in, when she had come to visit the Lodge over the summer. She shook her head, as if to clear it, and turned back to glaring at her girlfriend. "You put bear traps." Stacie enunciated. "Bear. Traps."

"I told you—"

"And you greeted us with a shotgun?" Stacie reminded.

"Some jerks decided they were too good for trust exercises."

Stacie gaped at her. She knew Aubrey had mellowed out some since they first started dating, but she was also aware of the flares in temper that happened with the blonde. "You shot—?"

"What? No." Aubrey waved off the alarm in Stacie's expression. "I challenged them to shooting skeet. Guess who won't have to deal with unruly overage frat boys for the rest of the week." She pointed at herself. "This girl."

"And then you tell me I'm sharing a tent with everyone?"

"Technically I told everyone. I can't play favorites, you know that."

"Everyone knows we're in a relationship!"

"All the more reason."

Stacie pointed at her. "You're going to regret this, you know that, right?"

Aubrey leaned back in her seat, and gestured at the air conditioned cabin that served as the crew's main office. "Am I, Stacie? Will I, really?"

"You remember the sex that we're never going to have again?" Stacie reminded.

"Stacie, I love you, but I don't see how that threatens me more than you." Aubrey pointed out.

"Oh, I have my ways." Stacie countered. She added, "I love you too, but don't test me, Posen."

Aubrey shrugged. "I _was_ going to offer you accommodations for the evening, once your teammates were asleep, but if you're bandying about threats — threats to withhold sex, especially — then I don't see why I should help you."

Stacie raised an eyebrow.

Aubrey met her stare evenly.

Stacie groaned, throwing her hands up in surrender. "Fine. But I don't see why you couldn't have offered us one of the deluxe tents, or two. I don't want to be in the same confined space when Beca has her meltdown."

"Did you see her hug me before anyone else?" Aubrey noted, pushing her chair away from her desk as Stacie walked around the desk to stand in front of her. "What's going on?"

Stacie shook her head. "I don't really know anymore. Beca's imploding, and Chloe's channeling you from three years ago, and Emily's trying too hard to prove herself."

"And you?"

"Me?" Stacie pointed at herself. "My girlfriend is making me stay in a tent with nine other girls not named Aubrey Posen, while she either stays in the staff's comfy cabin or drive to her cozy apartment. I'm pissed off, is what I am."

Aubrey looked up at her. "Where do your teammates think you are, right now?"

"Does it matter?"

"One of the points of the retreat is to do everything together, Stacie." Aubrey told her.

"My girlfriend — who I hardly see anymore because you need to talk to your best friend, seriously — is finally an unmarked booby-trapped walk away." Stacie retorted. "I think I can be forgiven for a few minutes of non-bonding time."

"You really shouldn't leave the path." Aubrey noted.

"And I am not going to be subjected to your extremely bossy quirks, Aubrey."

"You know, I _did_ tell you I wasn't going to pull punches to get you guys your sound back." Aubrey reminded.

"Well, I said I was going to do whoever it takes to get us back to the top." Stacie countered.

"I suppose we find ourselves at an impasse." Aubrey noted.

"I guess so." Stacie remarked.

The two engaged in a glaring match, willing the other to be the first to break.

Even if they both knew their individual stands were actually in line with each other's goals.

In the next instant, Aubrey was out of her chair and stood between Stacie's legs, the taller girl seated on the desk with her hands pulling Aubrey closer by her now-unbuttoned top.

"Fuck, you know I find it hot when you yell at people." Stacie muttered between fervent kisses, trying — unsuccessfully — to untie the knot of Aubrey's scarf to gain access to her neck. Giving up, she pushed off Aubrey's top to rake her nails down the blonde's back. "Fuck I've missed you."

"I miss you too." Aubrey slid one hand to cup the back of Stacie's neck, pulling her closer, as her other hand strayed to the other girl's leg, pulling it up to wrap around her waist. "But you're really breaking the rules here, babe."

"Does it count if I'm breaking them with the one who — shit, right there — makes the rules?" Stacie returned, tilting her head back to let Aubrey trace a line of kisses up her neck. "And you knew I'd notice you undid one too many buttons on your shirt."

"You're to talk." Aubrey whispered huskily, taking a playful bite on Stacie's earlobe before returning to her lips. "Wearing a tank _and_ a skirt?"

"I missed my girlfriend."

Aubrey smiled, one hand gliding up Stacie's thigh, slipping under the hem of the skirt in question. "And you know I love easy access."


	2. Nothing's How It Used To Be

Follows immediately after the first chapter of These Hands Are Meant to Hold and the campfire scene in PP2.

* * *

After they had managed to get Amy down from the bear trap — courtesy of Lilly again — the Barden Bellas decided to call it a night, heading back towards their tent and were honestly too tired to even keep up the complaining about sleeping on the ground after the day they'd had.

They were halfway there when Chloe stopped abruptly, causing Stacie to nearly collide into her, as the redhead turned back towards the fire pit. "I should help Aubrey clean up." It was her, after all, who had quietly insisted on letting the Bellas crash her talk with Aubrey and let them stay, bringing with them their mugs and ingredients for s'mores.

Stacie caught her arm. "I'll go."

Chloe arched an eyebrow, giving Stacie a knowing look.

Stacie scoffed at the obvious implication. "We can restrain ourselves."

Chloe's other eyebrow went up.

"Okay, total lie, but I need to talk to her about something." Stacie admitted.

"Okay." Chloe nodded. "Try to convince her to ease up on the camp dictator activities tomorrow?"

Stacie laughed. "She might even let us eat solid food. Maybe even something warm."

"Then go forth," Chloe gestured her back towards the fire pit. "Because that oatmeal this morning was disgusting."

Stacie gave her a mock-salute, and turned to head back in the direction they'd come from. Behind her, she heard Beca ask where she was going, and Chloe's response. She also heard at least three more of her fellow Bellas catcall, whistle, and even a distinctive "bow-chicka-wow-wow" call after her. She hoped the darkness didn't hide the middle finger she gave in their direction.

Back at the fire pit, though, the plates and cups had been put together, and there was no sign of Aubrey. Stacie deflated, and picked up the bag of marshmallows Emily had brought, picking one and biting into it, considering her options. She _could_ head back to the tent, or she could find Aubrey's cabin and wait for the blonde there, but Aubrey could also elect to stay in the Lodge's office. Or worse, Aubrey could choose to head to her apartment nearby. Stacie popped another marshmallow in her mouth, and chewed as she weighed out her decision.

"Seriously, you're really supposed to stay with your group."

Stacie smiled, turning as Aubrey came up behind her and wrapped an arm around Stacie's waist, careful to keep her other hand that was holding a cup of coffee away, while Stacie slid one hand up to the back of Aubrey's neck. "I've missed you too."

She would never admit it, but sometimes Stacie liked these quiet moments with Aubrey more than the passionate, lust-fueled frenzy that tended to characterize the initial moments of their reunions, every time they got together. While it was always fun to be punctuate the first few minutes of their reunions with orgasms, it was when their kisses were slow and gentle, like they were now, that it served to remind Stacie that this was a relationship, that there was an infinite well of love and affection where the kisses came from.

Aubrey giggled into their kiss. "You taste like mud and marshmallows."

"And you taste like coffee and whiskey." Stacie replied, pulling back slightly to look at the other girl, who had tied her hair up in a messy bun in the time between the Bellas leaving the fire pit and Stacie's return. "Irish Cream?" She guessed.

"It's been a pretty long day." Aubrey confessed.

"You're telling me." Stacie gave her a wary look. "I don't recall those obstacles being that hard."

"Or you're rusty."

"Or my teammates aren't as good as my summer training buddy." Stacie pointed out.

"They _were_ at the disadvantage of not doing that course on a regular basis." Aubrey acknowledged. She stepped away, taking Stacie's hand and leading them to the seat that Ashley and Jessica had occupied earlier, and sat down, Stacie sitting beside her. Aubrey exhaled. "So… Bumper and Fat Amy."

Stacie giggled. "They're cute."

"He's a horrible human being."

"He's changed, Aubrey." Stacie assured her. Aubrey had previously filled her in on the reasons behind her fiery hatred for Bumper Allen, the former leader of The Treblemakers; and why she insisted on keeping the No Trebles rule Aubrey's predecessors had imposed, even through her own crush on a Treblemaker, and Stacie could understand, sort of, why Aubrey was so opposed to The Treblemakers on principle. But some of them — Jesse and Benji, to start — weren't actually so bad. And even Bumper, who had probably been the worst of them during Aubrey's time, had proven himself to be pretty decent. "Amy wouldn't like him if he was still as awful as you think."

Aubrey sighed, and conceded that point. She also acknowledged the fact that some people probably thought the same thing about her, and relied on Chloe and Stacie's judgment to prove her own decency as a person. She took a sip from her cup of coffee.

Stacie watched her. "Should you be drinking coffee at this hour?"

"I spent practically the whole day with the Bellas, I have work to catch up on." Aubrey informed her. Her expression expressed just how much she wasn't looking forward to working the rest of the night.

Stacie frowned, and brushed back a lock of hair from Aubrey's face. "I thought running an outdoor retreat was supposed to be the relaxing option from your corporate job."

Aubrey, who had leaned into Stacie's touch, visibly stilled at Stacie's statement.

Stacie noticed. "Aubrey?"

Aubrey pulled away from Stacie's touch, and looked thoughtfully at the other girl. "You didn't mention what your plans were after graduation."

"Are you honestly trying to distract me from that very obvious pause?" Stacie questioned.

"I'm pretty sure it's related." Aubrey admitted.

Stacie quirked her head to the side, looking at Aubrey curiously. "You're not going back to being Head Office Bitch, right?"

Aubrey chuckled lowly at the moniker she'd once had, back when she was working and channeling her will-bending abilities in a more corporate setting. "God, I hope not."

"I mean, Head Office Bitch was hot, but…"

"Stacie."

"Focus?"

"Yes."

Stacie nodded, and then shrugged her shoulders. "I actually wanted to talk to you about it."

"Graduation?"

Stacie nodded. "And what happens after." She watched Aubrey carefully, trying to discern the blonde's reaction, but Aubrey only faced her, giving her a focused and serious look. Stacie took a deep breath. "I got into grad school."

Aubrey's expression cleared at the announcement, and smiled brightly. "That's great, Stacie!" She leaned forward to give Stacie a proper congratulations, but Stacie held her hand out, pressing against Aubrey's sternum and holding her back and keeping her away. "No, no. No hugging. We're talking."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow, because _Stacie_ was keeping her away.

"I need to know you're not going to break up with me if we're going to have to do the long-distance thing again." Stacie told her.

Aubrey frowned. "Technically…"

"You know what I mean." Stacie interrupted, because she really did not want to cover the technicalities of their relationship in its earlier stages. "We're not doing that again."

Aubrey nodded in confirmation. "We're not doing long-distance again."

Stacie stopped, and frowned at the statement, because there were so many ways to interpret the declaration and some of those interpretations weren't pleasant. "That's not what I—"

"Where are you going?" Aubrey asked.

"Aubrey–"

"This is relevant, I promise." Aubrey insisted. She placed her cup on the edge of the fire pit, and faced Stacie. "Where are you going?"

"I got into MIT, but I also got letters from Berkley, Stanford and Georgia Tech. Some other schools." Stacie admitted. "I'm kind of over Georgia, though."

"CalTech?"

"Didn't apply." Stacie frowned at Aubrey. "You're dodging."

"So the options are Boston or California?" Aubrey pressed, ignoring the accusation.

"I'm waiting on Columbia, since Cornell isn't really in my top five." Stacie answered. "Your turn. Why the pause?"

Aubrey held up a hand in a stop gesture. "Last one."

Stacie narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but nodded curtly.

"Top choice?"

"MIT is offering partial." Stacie admitted. "It kind of wins by default. And, you know, being _MIT_." She gave Aubrey a pointed look. "Your turn."

Aubrey nodded, and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. This… could go either way. "You know how I still do freelance project work, as a holdover from my last job?"

Stacie slowly nodded.

"And remember how some of my investors sent some MBA douchebags to talk to me about expansion, and five-year plans for The Lodge?"

"I remember how much you scrubbed your skin raw." Stacie admitted. Aubrey made it a point not to talk too extensively about work-related matters with Stacie, but sometimes, like how much Aubrey needed to scrub off someone's figurative smarm from her skin, it couldn't be helped.

Aubrey nodded. "And I know more than anyone how much I kept on screwing up our relationship when there were several states in between us, and then my mom told me to reconsider my plans, given how quickly The Lodge found its niche and went into the black, so…"

Stacie, despite not knowing exactly what news was going to come from Aubrey, couldn't help but feel oddly optimistic about what Aubrey was about to tell her. "So…?"

"I applied for graduate school." Aubrey finished.

There was a very remarkable silence that followed the announcement, Aubrey expecting a barrage of questions or probably even some squeals of excitement, but was only met with a wide-eyed stare and silence.

Aubrey raised an eyebrow, waiting for a reaction.

Stacie, whose hand still rested on Aubrey's sternum, pushed her none-too-gently. "Well, keep talking, you psycho. Where'd you apply?"

"You mean, _where did I get in_." Aubrey corrected.

Stacie gave her a droll look.

"NYU, UCLA, Scheller, and—" Aubrey shrieked when she found herself pinned to the side of the bench with an annoyed Stacie Conrad hovering over her.

"Boston. Say you applied to Boston." Stacie growled. " _Say it_."

"Questrom and Harvard." Aubrey finally finished, acquiescing to the demand.

Stacie smiled in satisfaction. "You're going to Harvard."

"Oh, am I?"

Stacie nodded. "Show 'em how it's done."

Aubrey huffed a laugh. "I have no idea how it's going to get paid, but okay, Conrad. I'll go to Harvard."

"Please. I've seen your bank statements. I'm not just dating you for the sex, Posen."

Aubrey laughed. "I love you too."

Stacie laughed as well. She smiled fondly at Aubrey. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to apply to grad school?"

"I didn't want to get either of our hopes up." Aubrey admitted. "You were aiming for pretty top-tier schools, and I don't know how much of my work experience counts-"

"You were on the corporate fast track," Stacie reminded.

"I still wasn't sure," Aubrey confessed.

Stacie shook her head, bemused and oddly touched that Aubrey took her own graduate school applications under consideration regarding her plans, and gave Aubrey a kiss before she quickly pulled back and swore violently.

"What?" Aubrey asked, concerned.

"You're ruining my reputation, Aubrey."

Aubrey gave her a bewildered look.

"I'm the hot one!" Stacie insisted. "How am I going to grad school and in a relationship with a business geek that's going to Harvard? How is this my life?"

Aubrey shrugged. "Smart is hot?"

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm only dating you 'cause you're hot, you know." Aubrey laughed. "I love you for your body."

"You say the sweetest things." Stacie cooed, quickly brushing their lips together. "That's why I love you."

"I'm sorry I called you smart." Aubrey joked, grinning into their kiss.

"You better make it up to me." Stacie pouted when she pulled back. They had come a long way, to be able to make light of their insecurities that anyone would date either of them for just one particular reason. For a long time, Stacie had believed that people only wanted to be with her because she was hot and put out, and she knew Aubrey had the bewildering insecurity that people would only date her with an ulterior motive, so the fact that they could joke about it, even if only to each other, spoke of a trust that went beyond their romantic relationship.

Stacie paused, and gave Aubrey a careful, considering look. "What was that pause earlier?"

Aubrey sighed, because here was the second, more dangerous part of her decision to go to graduate school. "Going to grad school pretty much implies I have to leave The Lodge. And ditch the apartment. And since the whole point of applying to the same states you did is—"

"Yes. Of course yes." Stacie cut her off. She pressed her lips to Aubrey's, affirming her answer. Maybe it was a shallow reason, and maybe it was naïve to think proximity would keep their relationship intact, but they had done the selfless thing three years ago, choosing to stay apart to allow the other to grow, and maybe they had earned the right to choose to be a little selfish, this time around. Neither of them would insist on being apart again, not if they could help it. When Stacie broke the kiss, she grinned at Aubrey. "That whole train of thought better have ended with you asking me to move in with you."

Aubrey, somewhat dazed, blinked up at her. "…Sure?"

Stacie smiled in satisfaction, and gave Aubrey another kiss, this time the blonde underneath her responding properly, pulling herself up to a sitting position while Stacie straddled her thighs. After a few moments, though, Stacie pulled back in annoyance. "This is really uncomfortable."

"You know, I do have a bed around here."

Stacie met her gaze, saw her own desire reflected in Aubrey's eyes, and immediately knew that Aubrey's work and her own exhaustion were things of the past. But she couldn't help but tweak her girlfriend a little. "Are you telling me not to go back to the tent with the rest of my group, Aubrey? Isn't that breaking your precious rules?"

"I thought it didn't count if you're breaking the rules with the one who makes them?" Aubrey returned, volleying with one of Stacie's favorite retorts.

Stacie moaned in appreciation. "I love my influence on you."

Aubrey would do many, many things to hear that moan again. "Bed."

Stacie nodded her agreement. "Now."


	3. Will I Ever See What You Could

Follows the third chapter of These Hands are Meant to Hold.

* * *

When the Barden Bellas left the mess hall of The Lodge, probably to go explore what else the outdoor retreat had to offer, they left behind Aubrey and Stacie, mostly to allow them some privacy before the Bellas had to leave to head back to the Barden University campus.

Aubrey regarded the other girl thoughtfully before she asked: "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Stacie recognized that pensive expression, and knew that something was nagging Aubrey's mind. She nodded.

"Lake?"

Aubrey agreed. After dropping off Aubrey's paperwork at The Lodge's office, they strolled along the path that led to the lake at the edge of the site, heading towards the side of the lake where the retreat's staff had placed beach chairs, away from the main thoroughfare. Opting to share a lounge chair, and having done this many times before, they were able to find a comfortable position quickly and easily.

Stacie waited Aubrey out, and while the older girl seemed to be content just sitting together, Stacie curled up beside her, the two of them staring out into the body of water that locals called a lake but was actually more of a really big pond. With Aubrey, she had learned, it was a delicate balance of knowing when to press and when to wait.

"Don't tell Chloe about Boston yet." Aubrey started.

Stacie glanced up at her. "You literally _just_ started talking again."

"I know. But focus on Worlds first. If she starts to freak out, for any reason, then spring it on her." Aubrey told her.

Stacie furrowed her brow.

The problem, Stacie had realized early on in their relationship, was that Aubrey Posen wasn't nearly as conceited and narcissistic as she had appeared to be during her senior year in Barden, when Stacie and most of her friends first got to know her. When she wasn't obsessed about winning the ICCAs and preserving Bella tradition, Aubrey was actually a warm and caring individual who concerned herself with the issues and worries of the people she cared for.

It was why she was still friends with almost all of her exes, why she'd had to take a large step back from the Barden Bellas after she had graduated, and why she tried so hard to keep out of Chloe and Beca's business; because Aubrey was a _doer_ , and when she saw a problem, she felt compelled to try and fix it.

"Just trust me." Aubrey assured her. "You'll need a bombshell in your back pocket."

"Okay..." Stacie acquiesced, even if she didn't quite understand why. But talking about Chloe piqued her interest about something that had occurred during breakfast. "Do you know why she went brick wall on Beca earlier?" She asked, referring to when Beca had suggested for Chloe to listen to her new mixes with her but had been rebuffed in favor of having the songs loaded onto her phone to be listened to at a later time, and turning instead to talk to Aubrey. It was a major departure from Chloe's usual eager response to anything Beca, and Stacie knew she hadn't been the only one to notice.

Aubrey exhaled. "I don't know. I could be wrong, but I think that was her taking the first steps to getting over Beca."

Stacie sat up abruptly, and turned to face Aubrey. "What?"

"Look, I don't like it any more than you do. She's an annoying runt of a thing, but Beca gets Chloe more than anyone else has in a long time, and Chloe really likes her. But there's Jesse, and between Chloe never going to break a couple up just for her benefit and Beca's glaring obliviousness, I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon."

Stacie pouted. "But... Bechloe!"

"I thought Fat Amy called them Bloe?"

"What do _you_ call them?"

"An abomination against all that's right and good, but that's really just Beca." Aubrey admitted.

"Don't be mean."

Aubrey sighed in concession, and pulled Stacie back into her arms. When Stacie was comfortably settled, Aubrey took one of Stacie's hands in her own, and twined their fingers together. "Stacie?"

"Hmm?"

"Why didn't you share an opinion during breakfast?"

Stacie hesitated, but chose to play it coy. "But I did. I opined how hot you were."

"Stacie."

Stacie sighed, and curled further into Aubrey's body. She knew, of course, what Aubrey was talking about: over breakfast, when the Bellas were conferring with Aubrey about the World Championships and their chances against Das Sound Machine, everyone but Stacie had formulated some kind of opinion or suggestion to add to the forum. Stacie had pretty much been Aubrey's cheerleader during the discussion, which she should have known wouldn't go unnoticed by her girlfriend. "My input about Worlds is the same as it's ever been since this whole thing began."

"And what's that?"

Stacie tilted her head back to look at Aubrey, who watched her with features etched with concern. She stated the truism she upheld from the moment the Barden Bellas got off the stage at The Kennedy Center. "'Ask Aubrey.'"

Aubrey's eyes widened, and she blatantly stared at her.

Stacie shrugged, as if to dismiss how major that admission was. "I know, it's sad and terrible and if you were a guy sets back the feminist movement by a century, but you know a cappella better than I ever would, and I know you've YouTube'd the hell out of DSM, so you know what we're up against." When nothing was forthcoming from Aubrey, she continued, "I mean, when this whole thing went down, you were the first person I called and we never would have issued an apology that fast if you hadn't told us to."

"Which backfired." Aubrey reminded.

"Which wouldn't have if we'd listened to you and had Beca and Chloe give the press conference instead of letting Amy issue the apology herself." Stacie pointed out. "I'm not saying you have all the answers, but when it comes to a cappella, I love Chloe and Beca something fierce and I know Jessica knows more about it than she lets on, but you're kind of my leading expert on making music with my mouth."

They both paused at that last part.

"That really _does_ sound dirty, doesn't it?" Aubrey mused.

"How are people allowed to just say that?" Stacie wondered. She shook her head, and turned back to Aubrey. "So, you know: when it comes to a cappella, I refer to What Would Aubrey Do – other than throw up, and sorry but I'm never letting you live that one down – but if you're actually there, I don't feel the need to try and contribute."

Aubrey was still gobsmacked by Stacie's confession, and after almost two years of being together, the fact that Stacie could still surprise her was an interesting development, at least to Aubrey.

Sure, she'd felt appreciated before, and had been told enough times in the past when she'd done a good job, but not like this. She had never been made to feel so special, so _worthy_ , especially when one considered the fact that Stacie was part of a nationals-winning group _three times_ to Aubrey's one, and still Stacie deferred to _her_. And it wasn't a simple case of hero-worship, no, Stacie just recognized that there were some things Aubrey was just good at and understood better, and allowed her the opportunity to show it.

When the fiasco at The John F. Kennedy Center went down, she hadn't been anywhere near DC, but had been watching the live telecast like so many had. Aubrey had known immediately what was in store for The Barden Bellas given the size of the audience that had witnessed the spectacle – a nationally-telecast performance was a blessing and curse in this case – and when her phone had rang with her girlfriend's number, her instinct after commiserating with Stacie had been to dispense public relations advice.

Because if anyone who had ever been a member of the Barden Bellas could understand saving face in the aftermath of such public humiliation, it was Aubrey Posen.

And for all her awfulness as a person, she remembered Alice, the Barden Bellas captain before Aubrey, who had been a sterling example of Bellas grace after the 2011 ICCA Finals. The immediate response back then had been to issue an apology, whether or not she had believed in it, but in a rare moment of magnanimity, Alice had not singled Aubrey out for what had happened, nor had she thrown Aubrey under the figurative bus: instead, it had been a Barden Bellas apology, issued by its leader.

(How she reacted privately was a whole other matter, and sometimes still crept into Aubrey's nightmares.)

Aubrey had tried to impart that same instruction to Beca and Chloe through Stacie, but for reasons she still didn't understand, they had allowed Fat Amy, who had no filter to begin with, to make the statement even as the group had shown up collectively at the press conference.

At the time Aubrey had thought Stacie had just called her because of their relationship, but to now be told that she had been the first person the girl had called because she trusted Aubrey to know _what to do_ , to be able to give the Bellas direction, was...

"Bet you feel bad about letting us figure this out by ourselves now, huh." Stacie quipped, smiling knowingly at the older girl.

Well, yeah, now that she mentioned it. "Maybe?"

Stacie rolled her eyes and shook her head, having known better than to expect Aubrey to admit to it outright.

Since the Bellas were suspended from being able to do any more appearances in the wake of what the media had called "Muffgate", the girls had split up to avoid having to give any more statements, some, like Beca, Chloe, Flo and Lilly, had returned to campus to await further directives from the National A Cappella Association while the rest retreated far away from Barden. Stacie had gone to a retreat in the middle of the woods. At the end of the summer, though, Aubrey had dropped Stacie off at the Barden University campus for the start of the school year, with the reassurance that the Barden Bellas would bounce back from whatever the board would hand out.

Aubrey had, of course, not expected the part that since Fat Amy had pretty much flashed her crotch at the leader of the free world, the punishment would go beyond what the guiding rules the International Championships of Collegiate Acappella stated.

In her defense, though, Aubrey had been juggling finishing out an employment contract with a Fortune 500 company while also getting her own enterprise off the ground, and she had figured that a group of nine women about to graduate college would figure out how to get themselves out of the hole they'd found themselves in.

She had gravely misjudged how the Bellas' reigning captains would respond to pressure.

But Aubrey had made herself a promise three years ago, when she'd graduated and had to leave the Barden Bellas behind: for her and the Bellas to move on and keep moving forward, someone had to draw the line separating the past and the present, and Aubrey had elected it to be her. She had taken a step back from the Bellas then, and she'd told herself that unless they asked for her help or advice, she wouldn't offer it to them.

Dating Stacie and keeping that pledge had been a delicate balance, but Stacie had been remarkable in separating Aubrey-as-her-girlfriend to Aubrey-former-Bellas-captain. And the rest of the Bellas hardly ever asked for help, save for when Beca would corner her whenever she'd visit Stacie in the Barden Bellas house, and talk about a cappella and the ICCAs with her.

That is, until the past few weeks. What had started as Stacie updating her on where the Bellas were in getting reinstated with the ICCAs and their progress involving the World Championships, quickly devolved into complaints about Beca's absence and Chloe's obsessive behaviour and the German champions that had usurped their national tour. Chloe also started calling her at odd hours of the day and night to ask random questions about a cappella, hinting but never outright asking for Aubrey to help.

Stacie turned, resting her weight on her elbows as she faced Aubrey and making their position on the beach recliner a tighter fit. "You were pretty decided on letting us deal with this ourselves. What made you change your mind?"

Aubrey still had no idea what happened, but suddenly the emails from the rest of the Barden Bellas started coming in, and were increasingly difficult to ignore.

"You guys asked for help." Aubrey admitted. "And Chloe finally stopped being a jerk and outright asked me to help."

"Oh, _I'm_ the jerk?"

Aubrey and Stacie both turned, to find Chloe and several other Bellas approaching.

"Wow, seriously, out in the open?" Beca asked, noticing the couple's position on the lounge chair.

"Don't you have an elsewhere to be?" Aubrey retorted.

Chloe slapped Aubrey's leg, and sat at the foot of the chair Aubrey and Stacie occupied. "Explain yourself, Posen. _I'm_ the jerk?"

Aubrey kicked her back, earning herself a squawk of outrage and indignation from the redhead, before Chloe pounced on her friend, forcing Stacie to leave the chair and move out of their way.

Stacie gave one weary look at the impromptu wrestling match that Aubrey and Chloe were engaged in, and shot Beca a glare. "Thanks a lot, Frodo."

"Awww, did we interrupt cuddle time?" Fat Amy teased.

"Limited time together and living in separate states is harsh on the afterglow, okay?" Stacie snapped.

"Geez, didn't know Sergeant Posen's bad mood was sexually-transmitted." Cynthia Rose muttered.

Whatever anyone was about to say next was interrupted when the wrestling duo left the recliner, with Chloe dragging Aubrey to the edge of the water. "I'm the jerk?!"

Stacie credited her quick reflexes for when Aubrey, obviously conceding to the inevitable, tossed her phone over and Stacie caught it. Aubrey and Chloe hit the water almost immediately after.

Beca grabbed Aubrey's phone from Stacie's hands, checking it for something that had been annoying her since they had arrived, and frowned at what she saw. "How is she getting wifi?"

Stacie grabbed the phone back, and set it on the beach chair. "They scramble the signals for almost everyone."

"What?" Beca stared at her. "Wait, 'almost'? Are _you_ getting wifi?"

Stacie gave her a wry look.

"Of course she is, Beca." Ashley pointed out.

"She's sleeping with the boss." Jessica reminded.

Beca fumed. "I can't believe this."

"Becs, you need to chill." Cynthia Rose told her. Beside Beca, Lilly nodded.

"I'll 'chill' when I get to check my emails, _damn_ , Aubrey." Beca muttered, shooting a glare at the two girls in the lake, both of whom were throwing their shoes over to the shore. She was too busy glaring in Aubrey's direction to notice the girls around her setting aside their own phones and shoes, with Lilly retrieving Beca's phone from the Bellas captain's pocket.

Aubrey and Chloe's matching wide-eyed looks were Beca's only warning before she was swept up by several people and tossed into water, followed closely by the rest of the group jumping in.

When the group stopped splashing each other and trying to dunk each other under the water, they swam idly in a concentrated part of the lake, knowing it could very well be the last moment of relaxation they would have before the final weeks of the school year kicked in and with finals, graduation and the World Championships in Copenhagen just around the corner, they were going to be extremely busy.

"You know, this place isn't so bad, when Aubrey isn't yelling at us to do physical activities." Amy observed. Several of the girls nodded their agreement.

"Yeah, we should totally make this a regular thing." Chloe agreed.

"And Emily's gonna need help next year putting a new group to competition form," Beca added. "A retreat could help."

Aubrey cut a glance to Stacie, the two of them knowing it would take some creative scheduling to accommodate the Barden Bellas at The Lodge if they were going to be in Boston.

Chloe turned to Aubrey, oblivious to the undercurrent going on between her two friends. "What do you say, Aubrey? Fun-filled bonding retreat next year? Put together a program specially for the new Bellas?"

Aubrey faced her. "I guess it's feasible, but you know what?" She tilted her head in Stacie's direction. "Ask Stacie."


End file.
